I am an unabashed pop culture junkie…and I have to confess of all the shows I watch, one of my very favorites is So You Think You Can Dance. Miss Dottie is a super fan too and we will be watching eagerly all summer long! If you don’t really like Dancing With the Stars, I think you’ll still like this show. And if you ARE a fan of DWTS, then you’ll LOVE SYTYCD. It probably has the lamest name of any TV show out there, but it’s great fun and you totally get to know and love all these young awesome dancers. And let me just say the dancing is both inspiring and spectacular—a cool mix of modern, hip hop, contemporary and yes…..ball room. Which leads me to today’s post.

Long before tans, bedazzled bodysuits and feathered hair clips were a glimmer in Bruno and Carrie-Anne Inanba’s eyes, there was Arthur Murray. Arthur Murray was the master of the ballroom  and his famous chain of dance studios were all the rage back in the 1950s. The country was really embracing “exotic cultures” and Latin influenced music  was extremely popular. Everyone was dying to learn how to cha cha or mambo and that, of course, meant DANCE CLASSES baby!

I thought it would be fun to take a look at these amazing photos from a Chicago-area Arthur Murray Dance Studio back in 1958-1962. I love that couples would get all gussied up and spend the night twirling away. “A beguiling mixture of awkwardness and grace.” Oh yes!

Images: Square America

Makes me want to put on my dancing shoes! And you know, just in case you are wondering….So You Think You Can Dance is on Wednesday and Thursday and we’re JUST in the audition phase. C’mon. You know you want to.